Investigation of optimal digital image correlation patterns for deformation measurement

Digital image correlation (DIC) relies on the visible surface features of a specimen to measure deformation. When the specimen itself has little to no visible features, a pattern is applied to the surface which deforms with the specimen and acts as artificial surface features. Since recent pattern application methods, e.g., micro-stamping [1] and lithography [2] allow for the application of highly customized patterns and because the accuracy and precision of DIC is dependent upon the applied pattern [3–6], an ideal pattern is sought for which the error introduced into DIC measurements is minimal. It is the goal of the present work to develop and refine an optimization technique to produce this type of DIC pattern.